New Music, Emerging from your Local Scene
Singer/Songwriter Jessica Mindrum recently released a new single “Better Now” b/w “River”. This comes on the heels of her debut EP, “Flickering”, which was released back in August.
You can catch Jessica Mindrum at Tonic room on January 9th with Poor Calvin.
Monte Carload (aka Tyler White) recently released his self-titled debut album. The album, his first new music since 2016, is a concept album that follows a drunken werewolf from curse to rehabilitation.
Tyler’s sound is laidback rock with a splash of jangle pop, but it is the storytelling that really shines on this album.
Brooklyn indie rockers TOLEDO make things look and sound easy. Anchored by Daniel Alvarez and Jordan Dunn-Pilz, TOLEDO has put out a mix of laid-back singles that showcase a folksy, blissed-out sensibility. With soft, watery harmonies and bright hooks that are easy to sink into, their sound recalls early days of Real Estate or even Fleet Foxes. As of now, TOLEDO is getting ready to put out their debut EP in February of 2019. You can catch them IRL at Trans-Pecos on December 16th, where they’ll be playing alongside Saint Marilyn and Elliot & The Ghost. Listen to their single “Hot Stuff” below. Sara Nuta
Infinity Dance Complex is a new musical endeavor from Matt Anderegg (Mothers, Body Meat). Their new album, These Rules, is debuting via Philly’s own Nino Tomorrow. Still in its infancy as a label, Nino Tomorrow has spotlighted MIDI mastery from contemporary artists like Ada Babar and Kasra Kurt, while also reissuing obscure recordings from Texas-based electronic sound sculptor Charles Ditto. These Rules immediately submerges the listener in an ethereal, tightly wound, rhythmic enterprise, encircling luminescent dreampop. Like listening to a kaleidoscopic funnel of floating dial tones eclipsing one another, leisurely gazing up from the bottom of a fish tank – sonic layers floating in a time independent of one another, working in tandem to contour what becomes a really well-rounded soundscape. On these recordings, Anderegg successfully synthesizes experimental electronic music and airy, overblown vocals within the framework of pop songcraft. The Infinity Dance Complex songs feel intimate and immediate, yet allude to a distance from the listener that almost heightens its appeal. – Josh Kelly
Mark Solotroff, of Anatomy of Habit and BLOODYMINDED, has released a new 60 minutes, two track, album of solo synth music called Symmetrical Spaces Of Communication via BloodLust!. This is his second solo album of 2018, and it is filled with a wide array of unsettling and imaginative Synth soundscapes.
A reflective maturity permeates throughout Fall Into The Sun (Merge Records), the latest album from reunited Swearin’. The quartet’s tour will be making a stop at Everybody Hits tomorrow night. The record seems to see with the clarity that comes from allowing the moment pass. However, it doesn’t feel like a time capsule, more so that altering proximity creates a broader or more well-rounded perspective. That being said; there’s still grit and emotive immediacy in the melodic manner which the lyrical vulnerability and instrumentation entangle. Swearin’ will be joined on the billing by the exuberant, blitzing pop-punk of tourmates Dark Thoughts and Cincinnati garage-punk trio Leggy. – Michael Colavita
Other places where you can pass the time this weekend…
Everybody Hits (529 W. Girard Ave.) SAT Swearin’, Dark Thoughts
Johnny Brenda’s (1201 N. Frankford Ave.) SAT The End of America, Oldermost, Mesmeric Haze, SUN The Spirit of The Beehive (Record Release)
Boot & Saddle (1131 S. Broad St.) FRI Strand of Oaks Winter Classic IV, SAT Strand of Oaks Winter Classic IV
Kung Fu Necktie (1250 N. Front St.) FRI Long Hots/DJ Deejay, SAT Man Like Machine, Something Like a Monument, Poor Devils/Fame Lust, SUN Crackhouse, Green Meteor
PhilaMOCA (531 N. 12th St.) FRI Z by Z, Ready Now
Underground Arts (1200 Callowhill St.) FRI Marah
Union Transfer (1026 Spring Garden St,) FRI The York Street Hustle
World Café Live (3025 Walnut St.) FRI (Upstairs) Conjunto Philadelphia, SAT (Upstairs) School of Rock Philadelphia, SUN Joanna Pascale & Sister Cities Girlchoir
The Fire (412 W. Girard Ave.) FRI Nearly York, Diverse Magnetic, SAT Eric Hills, The Bells with Zach Fey
MilkBoy Philly (1100 Chestnut St.) FRI Ivy Sole, Anyee Wright, SUN Brackish
Ortlieb’s Lounge (847 N. 3rd St.) FRI Dirty Dollhouse, Rachel Andie & The Fifth Element, SAT Ali Awan, Jimmy Scantron, Kirby & the Vibe Tribe, SUN Grace Vonderkuhn, Dominy
The Barbary (951 Frankford Ave.) FRI Green Wolf, Punk Hands, SUN Desert Hands, Mage Hand
Silk City (435 Spring Garden St.) FRI DJ Day, Reed Streets, SAT DJ Deejay
Fergie’s (1214 Sansom St.) SUN Rusty Cadillac
Connie’s Ric Rac (1132 S. 9th St.) FRI Eighth Fish of Christmas/John Hebert, Rev’rend TJ McGlinchey, Alec Stewart, James Cooper, SAT The Eighth Fish of Christmas, SUN The Eighth Fish of Christmas
Century (1350 S 29th St.) FRI Riverside Odds, Tough Shit, Beer Me, Atomic Cretins (Tape Release), Zorn, Traitor, SUN Little War, Brandish, The Red Hand
The Tusk (430 South St.) FRI Lamplighters, Andross, Hassle
Frankie Bradley’s (1320 Chancellor St.) FRI DJ Chris Urban, SAT Ian St. Laurent, SUN Maya Simone, Taylor Samuels, Namarah
Voltage Lounge (421 N. 7th St.) FRI Outer Heaven, Cancer Priest, SAT A Scent Like Wolves/DJ Mighty Mike Saga, Elijvh Vrms
The Grape Room (105 Grape St.) FRI Kissing the Klepto, Andrew Jude Band, The Front End, Kevin Correll, SAT Pool Radio, EDO, Philadelphia School of Rock Adult Band
Bourbon & Branch (705 N. 2nd St.) FRI Stella Ruze, Rare Spirits, Jamie B. Gallagher, SAT Dot.gov, Swwik, Bazmati Vice, SUN GinWheel, Smadar Rubin, New Alone
Ardmore Music Hall (23 E. Lancaster Ave.) FRI Trap Rabbit, SAT Chris Kasper, SUN Nik Greeley & Friends, Hambone Relay/Gnarbot, Lör
The Pharmacy (1300 S. 18th St.) SAT Murayama, Soupy
No Face Studios (5213 Grays Ave.) SAT Buddie, Twiin, LunchBox President
First Unitarian Church (2125 Chestnut St.) SAT Harmony Woods, SUN Kayleigh Goldsworthy
Jerry’s On Front (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) FRI Fursaxa, SAT Writhing Squares, Desertion Trio
The Music Ward (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SAT Kuf Knotz & Christine Elise, TheBusiness
There’s an immediately disorienting quality to “Paradise Flat,” the novel single by New York art pop husband and wife duo Dollshot. The track’s in an off kilter 7/8 time signature that fills each measure with a sense of shuffling unease, while a brooding synthetic bass plays against occasional piano accents. In the eye of the storm is Rosie’s hauntingly vocal performance, a melodic counterpoint to the discordant saxophone of Noah K. It’s a lot to take in at once, given that each musical component comes at the listener simultaneously, but the end result is an impressive synthesis of pop, jazz, and classical instrumentation, one that belies Dollshot’s experiences cutting their teeth at music conservatory before shifting into the world of experimental indie. Futhermore, the track is evocative of other alt-jazz efforts, primarily Radiohead’s "Life In A Glass House," done so in a way that ratchets woodwinds, percussion, and electronics up to an 11.
“Paradise Flat” is the first single from Dollshot’s forthcoming sophomore effort, Lalande, out January 25th. Stream it below. –Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt)
Chicago-born, LA-based Hip Hop artist Julian Xtra has dropped his latest single, “Lil Intro Vert”. This follow-up his hit single, “Everybody Eatin’”, which was released right at the end of the summer.
Julian left Chicago for the LA last year, and seems to have really hit his stride. Below is the Alexander Perfilyev animated video for “Lil Intro Vert”.
Genre-weavers Little Raven, who released their EP Black & Blue last year, will open the bill at The Cobra on December 18th. The quartet of Rafael Green, Keenan Keaton Payne, Kyle Edmonston, and Brad Owens pulled out all the stops to put their songs to tape last year, adding strings, horns, and mystical vocal overdubs to their jazz-rock jams. The recordings on Black & Blue capture not just their musical talent, but also the energy of their live performances; you can catch them on stage opening for Louisiana-based Alex Abel and NYC-based HER, kicking off a night of unapologetic rock-and-roll sure to make that Tuesday night an unforgettable one. Listen to Black & Blue below. – Will Sisskind
Tenor Saxophonist Gerrit Hatcher released his latest album, Parables For The Tenor, via Astral Spirits today, December 7th. This album, his second solo album, is just Hatcher and his sax over 6 tracks amplifying the amazing array of sounds both can produce.
You can catch Gerrit Hatcher with Angel Dat David, Julian Kirshner, and Peter Maunu at The Beat Kitchen on December 12th, and at Elastic Arts on January 10th as part of the trio Devouring the Guilt.
Para//el is an up and coming EDM producer, and he released his first single “Meraki” back in July. Since then he has released two addictive remixes, and is working on his follow-up single now.
Para//el is a part of the label ID & Ego Records and both are actively promoting great music in and around Chicago.
Much of Ackerman’s new 5 track EP, 1000 Variations of Yourself, is shrouded in echoes. This reaches a spacious pinnacle on the penultimate track “For Everyone You’ll Never Know,” where two-plus minutes of silky reverberation precede the core of the song. Ackerman, which describes itself as an “experimental rock group and multimedia collective,” invests generously in effects-laden transformations of pop sounds. Not to say that the Brooklyn group comes from an otherworldly place—opener “Tiger Traps” brings Animal Collective-esque electronica to the mix, M83 or Grizzly bear style indie rock ambience can be heard in the title track and “I am No Longer Afraid of Coyotes!,” and the closing falsetto and light funk of “Loverboy” holds plenty of pop appeal—but Ackerman’s tendencies toward the dreamy, less expected ends of that world distinguish them in the indie pop realm. Listen to 1000 Variations of Yourself below. – Cameron Carr
